Dino Melaye Reacts to the N8.64bn NASS Wardrobe Allowance

Senator Dino Melaye has finally said his take about the N8.64 billion the National Assembly has earmarked as wardrobe allowance for the 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives, while at the same time, defending the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as the President of the Nigerian Senate.

The senator said it was morally wrong to pay such money to legislatures when people are hungry.

It would be recalled that Melaye was in the forefront of Senators rooting for the emergence of Senator Saraki as the leader of the National Assembly.

ContinueMelaye said: “Order 10 (1) is clear; the quorum of the Senate shall be one-third of the members of the Senate. One-third of 109 is 38. We had 76 Senators in attendance. The APC is not polarised, the party is not divided, what happened is that many people expressed their interests in the leadership of the National Assembly. Once there is a position, even in the family, different persons will express their interest.

“Interests were expressed, one person must win. We cannot have two senate presidents. Bukola Saraki, a distinguished senator, has emerged. All we are going to do as a party is to embrace him, and we would support him. There is no division in the APC. The wording of the constitution on the issue of quorum is clear; the quorum is one-third. There is no mischief anywhere. The law and the rules are very clear on that.”

“I stand solidly on what I earlier said about pay cut. There must be a pay cut to Senators and House of Representative members. You can’t be talking about change and this kind of money in this country now when people are hungry. We must be sacrificial. We must show Nigerians that we must sacrifice by allowing a pay cut.”